New Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell came to town with many thinking he’d focus on the ground game, then something else happened.
With a new offensive coordinator in town, the Detroit Lions offense has taken to the skies. Many thought when Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell took the reins, things would look like more ground-and-pound football. That hasn’t exactly been the case.
While running the ball is important, this offense has started throwing the ball all over the field. Case in point, Tim Twentyman noted in his Week 2 Observations that quarterback Matthew Stafford has thrown the most 20-plus-yard passes in the NFL through the first two weeks of the season (17).
What’s even more telling is that Stafford is currently ranked fifth in the NFL for passing yards through the season’s first two weeks. He’s connected on eight of his 17 deep targets this season with three of them going for touchdowns. He’s letting it rip.
And on Sunday, that also meant engineering another fourth-quarter come-from-behind victory.
Matthew Stafford now has 28 fourth-quarter comebacks since entering the NFL in 2009 (most in the NFL in that span) #Lions
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) September 15, 2019
That sounds like a quarterback that many coaches would want on their team. Now, Stafford wasn’t perfect against the Los Angeles Chargers. He did throw a couple of interceptions in the game. But he also led them to victory when it counted.
On the other sideline, things didn’t go as well for Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. Instead of the late-game touchdown, he threw the game-sealing interception. I’m sure he wants that one back. After targeting Lions cornerback Darius Slay all game, Slay was bound to make a big play eventually.
You can call it luck or sloppy or anything, really. But it’s a win. The Lions first of the season. And it was with the help of Stafford throwing it deep.
The positive connections on deep throws may be the result of successful running plays that have kept defenses honest. The Lions still aren’t as effective running the ball as they’d like with a mere 3.5 yards per carry average. But they are doing it enough to open up the passing game.
And, really, that’s all that matters. The team is putting together some semblance of balance on offense. It’s opening up the deep throws and Stafford has the green light to let it fly. Whether you were expecting Bevell to bring that to Detroit or not, it’s happening. And it’s working.